Rebirth 99 to become a car giant

There are quite a few companies in the industry conducting research on technologies related to autonomous driving.

As a giant in the auto parts industry, Bosch has naturally spent a lot of manpower and material resources on the deployment of autonomous driving.

However, so far, their technology is still limited to some attempts at automatic parking.

After the five-minute video of the future car was released, Bosch immediately organized professional technicians to study the video hundreds of times.

However, the final result is not optimistic.

"Mr. Liu, according to feedback from the technical department, we will not be able to reach the level of autonomous driving of future cars in the next three to five years."

"They are still analyzing where everyone's gaps are and how to catch up."

As Bosch's sales manager, Ren Cai has heard several customers ask her about Bosch's autonomous driving technology in the past few days.

Invisibly, this also put a lot of pressure on Bosch.

They are the bosses in the auto parts industry.

Why are we lagging behind others now?

This is something that has never been encountered before.

"The technical threshold for cameras, millimeter wave radars and various sensors designed for autonomous driving is not that high, right?"

"If we can't catch up in three to five years, what do the technical departments do for a living!"

Liu Zhenbo is definitely not satisfied with this result.

Although most car companies currently have no plans for autonomous driving, as long as a pioneer appears, it will immediately stimulate everyone to enter this field.

For most OEMs, many functional parts are left to parts giants like Bosch for research and production.

Bosch has lived up to expectations over the years.

Now he has to give an answer that will disappoint everyone. Liu Zhenbo must be dissatisfied.

"Hardware problems are actually relatively easy to solve. If we focus on our efforts, it is not impossible to solve them within a few years."

"But the trouble is the software, which involves a lot of algorithms. It will be very difficult for us to complete these projects in a short time."

Ren Cai was helpless and told the bottleneck problem.

In the field of software development, China's competitiveness is unparalleled.

This is also closely related to the development of the Internet industry. The world, that is, the United States, can be compared with China.

As for Germany, it is not on the same level at all.

A software problem that can be solved in a month by future cars may take a year by Bosch.

If development continues at this rate, the gap between everyone will become even greater.

The key is that if this thing wants to catch up, there is only one way, and that is to put the development of parts in China and recruit R\u0026D personnel from China.

But they don't want to.

In the view of parts giants such as Bosch and Denso, the R\u0026D department is the most core department and the department that is least willing to be placed in China.

For other manufacturing, as long as there is demand for production capacity, it can basically be considered to be produced in China.

Ren Cai was also very aware of this situation, so he looked helpless.

And Liu Zhenbo obviously understood this situation.

So after listening to Ren Cai's report, the frown on his face deepened.

Such a twist in the future of automobiles can be said to be a shock to the industry.

Parts companies such as Bosch are beginning to worry, and automotive OEMs are naturally not idle either.

However, auto giants such as Toyota and General Motors are often a few beats slower in their responses.

On the contrary, Huaxia's own brands closely followed the movements of Nanshan Group and were able to realize the impact of this incident immediately.

"Mr. Wang, although the autonomous driving technology of future cars is still far away from true autonomous driving, it already has certain practicality."

"If we want to catch up, I'm afraid it's not that easy."

As the vice president of research and development of BYD Auto, Liang Chuanqing can feel the gap in everyone's technical level.

This kind of autonomous driving technology cannot be simply modified by one or two parts.

It is a systematic change from beginning to end.

"How long do you think it will take for the entire industry to reach the level of future cars?"

Wang Fu didn't panic at this time.

In the entire automobile industry, only Future Auto has developed the first version of autonomous driving technology. Others, including Mercedes-Benz and BMW, have not kept up. What is BYD worried about?

Of course, he must also take a look and see when BYD will need such capabilities.

Otherwise, there will be too many industries lagging behind by then, and it will be difficult to handle.

"It is still difficult to give an accurate time. If it is fast, it will be about five years. If it is slow, it will take ten years."

"Especially for major international manufacturers such as Toyota and General Motors, their model development cycles are relatively long, and they are basically already developing new models a few years from now."

“If we don’t have the ability to drive autonomously now, then the new models that will be launched in a few years won’t have this feature.”

"Even if they develop autonomous driving technology in the past two or three years, it will probably be six to seven years or even later before it is finally used in mass-produced models."

When Liang Chuanqing said this, Wang Fu felt a lot more relaxed.

Even international automobile giants such as Toyota and General Motors can't get it done so quickly, so that's stable.

Of course, he certainly didn't do nothing.

In the future, cars have already started mass-producing this kind of models, and BYD will definitely start researching this technology.

"Let's do this. Set up a dedicated intelligent driving division in the R\u0026D center, and put all the parts related to intelligent driving in other divisions under the responsibility of this department."

"We strive to use autonomous driving-related technologies in our new models that will be launched in five years."

“At the very least, we can’t be much worse than the technology that Future Cars has announced now. Otherwise, by the time the autonomous driving technology of Future Cars has evolved to a higher level, we will not even reach where they started. Then It’s easy to attract criticism.”

BYD is currently producing mid- to low-end models, and consumers should not have much expectations for autonomous driving-related technologies.

But Wang Fu does not plan to always make mid- to low-end models.

So it will definitely be involved in the future.

The most important thing is that he has sensed a trend, that is, what is produced in future cars is likely to become the standard feature of electric cars in the future!

Wang Fu's emphasis on electric vehicles is unmatched by many car company CEOs.

Therefore, BYD's internal technology research and development related to autonomous driving will naturally be put on the agenda.

…

Just when many car companies are discussing the autonomous driving technology of future cars, Nanshan Group Intelligent Network Center, which developed this technology, has naturally ushered in some changes.

These changes were quickly grasped by Liu Youmei, the Minister of Personnel Department.

"Mr. Cao, many headhunters have called the employees of the Intelligent Network Connection Center in the past few days, and they generally offer relatively high prices to poach people."

"I think we can sign a non-compete agreement with all employees to prevent the talents we have trained from being poached?"

The Intelligent Network Center has been burning a lot of money in recent years, and the company's internal human resources and finance departments have some opinions.

Now we are finally about to see the results, and there is indeed a risk of being peach-picked.

"Our remuneration is not low in the country, especially the employees of the Intelligent Network Center. Their income should be among the highest among domestic automotive research institutions, right?"

A non-competition agreement is something that core R\u0026D personnel must naturally sign.

But whether all R\u0026D personnel must sign it requires careful consideration.

After all, something like this will make employees dissatisfied to a certain extent.

"Yes, in the automotive industry, the salary of our intelligent network center is relatively high."

"But if you compare it with the Internet industry and the financial industry, it's hard to say."

"Many of these people's classmates are in the Internet industry and the financial industry. Comparing the two, it is not surprising that some people will change jobs."

"The most important thing is that I am worried that some overseas car companies will come to poach people, so our salary will not necessarily be competitive."

When Liu Youmei said this, Cao Yang immediately realized that he had overlooked something.

That is, the current intelligent driving technology of future cars can be regarded as the best in the world!

At that time, not only independent brands such as Chery and Geely will come to poach people, but foreign-funded companies such as Tesla, General Motors, and BMW will come to poach people.

For these car companies, there is no problem at all in offering a salary of 1 million yuan a year to technicians who develop autonomous driving.

Even for core technical personnel, it is not a problem to offer a salary of several million yuan.

Such a comparison will show that the salary of Nanshan Group Intelligent Network Center is uncompetitive.

Since Liu Youmei specifically mentioned this topic to herself, it means that the personnel department has learned some information.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have come here specifically to report to me.

"Since the Human Resources Department feels it is necessary to sign it, then prepare in this direction."

"Of course, we will not force it at the beginning and let employees choose whether to sign or not."

"For employees who do not sign, the Intelligent Network Connection Center should try to avoid them as much as possible in terms of their next promotion and the research and development of important projects."

Autonomous driving is the core competitiveness of future cars, and Cao Yang will never allow others to take advantage of the technology he has developed.

So after realizing the crisis, it is natural to take action.

Of course, in the future, the salary and benefits of intelligent network connection centers will definitely need to be continuously improved.

Otherwise, simply relying on non-competition agreements will definitely not be a long-term solution.

…

While various car companies are still paying attention to the short videos released by future cars, the test drive and launch conference of W9 are about to be officially held.

This chain of links has attracted the focus of the entire automobile industry.

"Mr. Yu, why do I feel that there are a lot of people from various media outlets this time, and many of them are new faces."

Also in Zhucheng, the test drive and launch activities of future cars attracted almost all domestic automobile-related media.

Even many mainstream media came over.

As an old person in the automobile industry, she is relatively familiar with personnel from various media.

Even if you don't recognize the specific name, at least it looks familiar.

After all, there are so many OEMs holding events throughout the year. They come and go, and no one knows how many times they have met.

But this time, He Ling felt that some people's behavior made her feel a little strange.

"Future Auto released three big news in one go, each of which aroused heated discussions inside and outside the industry."

"It can be said that news related to future automobiles is the hottest news in China during this period."

"Of course everyone doesn't want to miss it, but we don't rule out that some people in the media may be people from other car companies or parts companies."

"After all, two people were registered to attend, but it's not uncommon for several people to actually come."

When Yu Yu said this, He Ling reacted immediately.

Those people who find it weird turn out to be not professional media people.

They sneaked in!

"Mr. Yu, a competitor has sneaked in. Should we talk to Future Auto?"

In He Ling's view, it is definitely not okay for Future Auto's activities to have personnel from other car companies or suppliers come to inquire about information.

But Yu Yu's reaction was a little different from hers.

"It's not necessary. I think future cars should also know this."

"Anyway, these cars will be officially launched today. You can see the real cars in some sales stores starting tomorrow. It doesn't matter if you take them for a test drive one day in advance."

"Competitors will take these actions, which actually illustrates the competitiveness of future cars."

"When have you ever seen employees from major international manufacturers lurking at the press conferences of independent brand car companies such as Chery and Geely?"

He Ling felt relieved after hearing what Yu Yu said.

This is indeed the truth!

This time, the test drive of the future car was held together with the press conference. There really weren’t many secrets at all.

Besides, even if they didn't do it together, it doesn't matter if someone finds out.

Because it was meant to be publicized to the outside world.

In this special atmosphere, the test drive activity of Future Auto's new large SUV W9 officially began.

Since it is an electric vehicle, the W9's powertrain is divided into two versions with a range of 450 kilometers and a range of 550 kilometers.

Each powertrain corresponds to two different levels of configuration. There are only four major categories in total, which is not very complicated.

"This car looks much better in real life than in the pictures."

Lin Jiayan circled around W9, taking a bunch of photos frantically, and then prepared to start a test drive.

As a media with huge influence, NetEase Auto Channel was directly allocated a quota for a special experience car for test drive.

The right to use this car today and tomorrow belongs to Lin Jiayan and the others.

"Mr. Cao's design level never disappoints."

"This car is very fashionable and not old-fashioned at all. I think both young and middle-aged people will like it."

"However, if a 6-seater version of this seat is added, the comfort of the rear row will be much higher."

Fang Dawen couldn't help but sit in the driver's seat first and experience the charm of the super-large central control screen.

Connect HONOR 2 directly to the big screen, and you can use the above software very smoothly.

This is something no other car company can do yet.

Even without connecting to an Honor phone, the built-in navigation system seems to be very accurate.

Various controls such as air conditioning and headlights are placed on the large screen. It was a bit unfamiliar at first, but after a few more operations, you can feel how good it is.

"Editor Fang, how about we experience the effect of autonomous driving first? I feel that many people will be interested in this feature."

Lin Jiayan also looked eager to try.

This thing can be regarded as the biggest highlight of future cars.

At today's event, a lot of information was closely related to autonomous driving.

Many strangers are also interested in intelligent driving.

On the contrary, the "integrated die-casting technology" that caused considerable controversy before has received relatively little attention today.

Because there are so many other things worth paying attention to.

Soon, along with the test drives of these media, there were many related articles on the Internet.

Future cars are a hot word now, and everyone wants to take advantage of it.

Therefore, many people in the automobile industry suddenly found that after logging into various professional media, they were overwhelmingly filled with news about future automobiles.

It’s as if future cars have put out a lot of ads at once.

In fact, Future Auto really does not give these media a penny in advertising fees.

And that evening, when the prices of the four configurations of W9 were officially announced, five out of ten of the hot searches on Weibo were related to Future Auto's W9.

This is also very rare in the automotive industry.

The standard version costs 499,900 yuan.

The elite version costs 549,900 yuan.

The deluxe version costs 599,900 yuan.

The flagship version costs 649,900 yuan.

The price is not cheap, but compared to the configuration of W9, the price is very cheap.

This is the world's first car equipped with an autonomous driving system.

Although this autonomous driving system is actually at the L2 level, it is not even the peak L2 state.

But your opponent is too poor. Many models don't even have a cruise function.

Even for models with cruise functions, many can only cruise at a fixed speed, and there is no way to perform adaptive cruise, which is not very meaningful.

Now, future cars will directly enter the state of L2 autonomous driving, which will have a huge impact on everyone.

"No. 1 in the world, who is in favor and who is against?"

That night, a bold headline was placed on the front page of Autohome to report the news of the launch of Future Auto W9.

From integrated die-casting technology to super-large central control, to autonomous driving and stunning appearance and minimalist interior.

Autohome is not polite at all this time and boasts that the future W9 will be unparalleled in the world.

It’s hard to refute!

This makes many friends and businessmen very uncomfortable.

World number one!

I also want this honor.

"Mr. Cao, the Future Car has just been launched, and more than 1,000 consumers have made inquiries about it."

"Our official website has now begun accepting reservations simultaneously."

"It seems that there should be no pressure to achieve the sales target we set before."

"I even think we can focus on the export market, let the European and American branches fully exert their power, and give local consumers who are willing to try new things an opportunity to buy W9."

Zeng Tingting feels that Future Auto W9 is very suitable for the international market.

In places like Northern Europe, some environmental protection topics are very popular.

As a mid-to-high-end product, W9 still has a market here.

"No problem, but I hope the price of this car abroad will start at US$70,000. After the exchange rate is converted, it will not be cheaper than domestically."

When Cao Yang said this, Zeng Tingting could immediately understand the gap.

Domestic taxes and fees are different from those abroad.

Export tax rebates are available for exported cars. In fact, if you sell a car domestically for RMB 499,900 and maintain the same profit, you can still make money by selling it overseas for RMB 400,000.

But now Cao Yang basically requires that the starting price of 499,900 yuan be converted into an international selling price, which is equivalent to the international selling price being higher than the domestic selling price.

But this setting is very clever.

People who don't understand the situation will think that the prices of future cars will just be set at the same level at home and abroad, and no gap will be seen.

"No problem. With the competitiveness of our W9, even if it starts at US$80,000, some people are willing to try it."

"I even think that if other car companies around the world buy W9 and do dismantling and comparison, the sales volume will exceed 100 units."

When Zeng Tingting said this, she couldn't help but smile.

Now it is the turn of other international automobile giants to purchase Nanshan Group's cars and dismantle them for benchmarking.

It’s rare!

"This is just the beginning. When other domestic independent brands catch up with the pace of electrification, that's when the real troubles for international giants will begin."

"Everyone can still live a comfortable life in recent years."

Cao Yang is very aware of the learning ability of Chinese enterprises.

At present, international automobile giants generally do not really pay attention to electric vehicles, and preferential policies in various places are still relatively limited.

Therefore, even if electric vehicles are produced, the price will be extremely expensive.

As long as consumers are not really motivated by love, they will not be able to accept a product like that.

But the situation in China is different. Various car companies have launched some new electric vehicles based on market demand, and the market structure will soon be rewritten.

This is also a real opportunity for Chinese car companies to achieve overtaking in corners.

Those giant joint venture car companies have made so much money for so many years, but there are always times when they have to spit something out.

However, Cao Yang and Zeng Tingting were happy, but some people were about to be depressed.

Especially the controversial article about Autohome, many people were unconvinced.

You are a brand new brand that has not passed any market test and just claims to be the best in the world. Who will give you the respect?

Which car company doesn't have a few navy troops under its control?

So soon, the Chinese Internet became lively.

Whether it is Weibo, Tieba, or the forums of various car channels, it is full of excitement.

Some support Future Auto, while others feel that Future Auto is too proud and should be more modest.

There are also short promotional videos criticizing future cars that mislead consumers and even play a bad guiding role.

The various contents dazzled everyone.

Along with these quarrels, the popularity of future cars is increasing.

Nowadays, many car companies no longer dare to treat future cars as a brand new brand without any competitiveness.

He used his own strength to tell everyone what the real Raptors Crossing the River is!

Anyone who is dissatisfied must endure it first!